Your TV may use more energy than you think, group chargesSAN FRANCISCO — An environmental group accused three major television manufacturers Wednesday of misleading consumers and regulators about how much energy their high-definition screens devour by designing them to draw less power during government testing than in ordinary use. The Natural Resources Defense Council concluded that the TVs made by Samsung, LG Electronics and Vizio saddle households with an extra $120 million in electricity bills e...

NY bombing case most high-profile since Boston bombingWASHINGTON — The federal charges portraying Manhattan bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami as a man bent on murderous destruction set the stage for the most anticipated terror prosecution since the Boston Marathon bombing. As separate cases wind through federal courts in New Jersey and New York, prosecutors are sure to reveal more about the bombings that injured 31 people and the evidence that led to Rahami's capture early Monday morning after a ...

Charlotte workers asked to stay home after night of violenceCHARLOTTE, N.C. — Streets appeared calm early Thursday in downtown Charlotte after a second night of violent protests over the deadly police shooting of a black man, although at least three major businesses were asking their employees to stay home for the day as the city remained on edge. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Duke Energy all told employees not to venture into North Carolina's largest city after Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of ...

Obama, McConnell strike hopeful tone on budget, ZikaWASHINGTON — Striking a conciliatory tone after an Oval Office sitdown, President Barack Obama and the top Senate Republican declared themselves hopeful Monday that an agreement can be reached to keep the government running and to provide money to take care of the worsening Zika crisis. "I was encouraged by some of the constructive work that's being done right now," Obama said after his meeting with the top four congressional leaders, two from...

Federal government halts work on part of pipeline projectNEAR THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, N.D. — The federal government stepped into the fight over the Dakota Access oil pipeline Friday, ordering work to stop on one segment of the project in North Dakota and asking the Texas-based company building it to "voluntarily pause" action on a wider span that an American Indian tribe says holds sacred artifacts. The government's order came minutes after a judge rejected a request by the Standing Roc...

Actor Gene Wilder diesLOS ANGELES -- Gene Wilder, the frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in "The Producers" and the mad scientist of "Young Frankenstein," has died. He was 83. Wilder's nephew said Monday that the actor and writer died late Sunday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications from Alzheimer's disease. Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement that Wilder was diagn...

Park Service marks centennial with monumentThe National Park Service is celebrating its 100th birthday on Thursday with events across the U.S. including the creation of a giant, living version of its emblem in Washington, D.C., a naturalization ceremony on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and an outdoor concert at Yellowstone National Park. The centennial comes as the agency that manages national parks as well as historic places welcomes a new national monument and nature forces some ...

Trump changes tone on illegal immigrantsWASHINGTON -- Donald Trump defeated 16 rivals in the Republican primaries by being the most anti-immigrant of them all, promising to build a giant wall on the border and deport millions. He labeled opponents like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as weak and amnesty-loving, and his extreme rhetoric pushed the entire debate over immigration to the right. But suddenly, Trump is sounding like some of the people he defeated. In an appearance on Fox News Ch...

Diverse millennials are no voting monolithAmerica's oldest millennials -- nearing 20 when airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center -- can remember the economic prosperity of the 1990s, and when a different Clinton ran for president. The younger end of the generation -- now nearing 20 -- can't recall a time without terrorism or economic worry. Now millennials have edged out baby boomers as the largest living generation in U.S. history, and more than 75 million have come of age. Wi...

Image of wounded Aleppo boy shocks worldBEIRUT -- The Russian military said Thursday it was ready to back a U.N. call for weekly cease-fires for Syria's contested city of Aleppo, as haunting footage of a young boy's rescue from the aftermath of an airstrike shook global media. The image of the stunned and weary-looking boy, sitting in an ambulance caked with dust and with blood on his face, captured the horror that has beset the war-torn northern city as photographs of the child wer...

Brazilian police: U.S. swimmers weren't robbedRIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian police said Thursday that swimmer Ryan Lochte and three U.S. teammates were not robbed after a night of partying, and that the intoxicated athletes instead vandalized a gas station bathroom and were questioned by armed guards before they paid for the damage and left. The robbery that was or wasn't has become the biggest spectacle outside of the Olympic venues in Rio, casting a shadow over American Olympians in Brazi...

Volunteers sought to be infected with ZikaWASHINGTON -- Wanted: Volunteers willing to be infected with the Zika virus for science. It may sound bizarre, but researchers are planning just such a study -- this winter, when mosquitoes aren't biting -- to help speed development of much-needed Zika vaccines. The quest for a vaccine began less than a year ago as Brazil's massive outbreak revealed that Zika, once dismissed as a nuisance virus, can harm a fetus' brain if a woman is infected d...

Organ network mapping fairer liver transplantsWASHINGTON -- The nation's transplant network is taking a long-awaited step to ease a serious disparity: Where you live affects whether you get a timely liver transplant or die waiting. Desperate patients sometimes travel across the country to get on a shorter waiting list -- if they can afford it. On Monday, the United Network for Organ Sharing is proposing a change, redrawing the map that governs how donated livers are distributed so patient...

Man at center of segregation suit dies at 75COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A man at the center of a lawsuit that culminated with the U.S. Supreme Court outlawing segregated public schools has died. Harry Briggs Jr. was 75. According to Samuels Funeral Home in Manning, Briggs died Aug. 9 at his New York City home. A funeral is scheduled for Friday. Briggs' parents, Harry and Eliza Briggs, were the first signers of a 1949 petition seeking equal treatment for black students. Harry Jr.'s signature was t...

Divided America: Even in fractured land, there's unityEDITOR'S NOTE -- This story is part of Divided America, AP's ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society. SOUTH BOSTON, Va. -- Outside the Annin Flagmakers factory in this perennial swing state, a summer of discontent is brewing. They feel the country's divides inside, too -- gulfs between rich and poor, left and right, this side and that side, that seem to grow deeper with each passing week. Yet as ...

Report: U.S. added 255,000 jobs in JulyWASHINGTON -- Years of steady job gains have finally begun to benefit a wider range of Americans, including those with less education and in lower-paying jobs. A second straight month of robust hiring -- 255,000 jobs added in July -- pointed to employer confidence that suggested that the economy is powering through a slump that struck early this year. The unemployment rate remained a low 4.9 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. Hiring ha...

US trade deficit hits $44.5 billion, biggest in 10 months WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit increased to the highest point in 10 months, driven up by a big rise in imports of oil and Chinese-made computers, cell phones and clothing. The deficit rose to $44.5 billion in June, 8.7 percent higher than a revised May deficit of $41 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. It was the biggest gap between what America sells abroad and what the country imports since a $44.6 billion deficit last Aug...

Guess what happened next: Facebook battles 'clickbait' NEW YORK — Facebook is taking another stab at ridding users' news feeds of "clickbait," the links and headlines that ask readers to "guess what happened next" but don't provide any useful information, tempting people to click if they want to find out anything. The world's largest social media company last tried this in 2014, when it announced that it was improving users' news feed to help them find what was "interesting and relevant" and weed ...

As Zika fears escalate, lawmakers point fingers from afar WASHINGTON — As Zika escalates into a public health crisis and the number of mosquito-transmitted cases grows, Republicans and Democrats are pointing fingers over the failure by Congress to commit federal dollars to fight the virus. President Barack Obama on Thursday sought to pressure congressional Republicans over the issue, encouraging voters to "call your members of Congress and tell them to do their job." "The money that we need to fight ...